The Lord is My Shepherd, Thursday

0:00Hey kids, welcome to Junior's for Jesus. Go grab your Bibles. We're gonna be digging in and learning some really exciting stories. Let's get started. We begin this week speaking of Jesus as the good shippard who gives his life for the sheep. But just who were the sheep for which the Savior would die? Well, if you asked the Jews, they would likely have told you that it was certainly them. They were the chosen nation, divinely chosen by God to be his people. But Jesus wasn't just interested in reaching the Jews. No, as we learned yesterday, Jesus' ministry was mobile. He traveled to many different regions, some even Gentile regions with the purpose of bringing the message of the gospel to everyone. Little wonder then that we end this week with one of Jesus' most powerful parables. Luke 10 tells us of a young intelligent lawyer who comes to Jesus asking a very important question. When Jesus tells him to love the Lord

1:01and to love his neighbor as himself, the lawyer asks a very astute question. He asks, who then is my neighbor? That's the question that Jesus answers and it has a world of importance for us today. We'll discover it together after we read our memory verse from John 10, 27 and 28. It reads, My sheep hear my voice and I know them and they follow me and I give them eternal life and they shall never perish. Neither shall anyone snatch them out of my hand. John 10, 27 and 28. Thee, 3rd day, who is my neighbor, Luke 10, 9 to 32? In answering a question from Jesus, a lawyer quoted scripture about truly loving God and one's neighbor. You have answered rightly, Jesus said, Do this and you will live, Luke 10, 25 to 28.

2:05But the lawyer had been studying the scriptures and he was no longer satisfied with the made up rules the Pharisees taught. He wanted to know what was truly important. The way Jesus spoke made him realize that he didn't love others like he loved himself. But instead of confessing that, what did he ask? Look in Luke 10, 29. But he, wanting to justify himself, said to Jesus, and who is my neighbor? That was a question that the Jews had argued about. In their thinking, he and some meritons were certainly not their neighbors. But which of their own people were neighbors and which were not? There were sure tax collectors who weren't. But what about ignorant or sick people that strict Jews thought were unclean? Were those people also not their neighbors? It's better to teach truth than to argue about error. And that's what Jesus did. Instead of arguing, he told the true story that was shows the kind of love that he has for us

3:08and the kind of love that he wants us to have for others. But before continuing today's lesson, read the first part of this story in verses 30 to 32. Then Jesus answered and said, a certain man went down from Jerusalem to Jericho and fell among thieves who stripped him of his clothing, wounded him, and departed, leaving him half dead. Now by chance, a certain priest came down that road. And when he saw him, he passed by on the other side. Likewise, a Levi when he arrived at this place came and looked and passed by on the other side. Now the distance from Jerusalem down to Jericho is about 15 miles. And the road descends about 3,200 feet between those cities. At one place, it goes through a narrow rocky gorge. And that's where the robbers rushed from their hiding place and wounded the traveler in our story. The priest and Levi that came down the same road were returning home from service at the temple in Jerusalem.

4:11And they probably lived in Jericho because they were in the congregation there when Jesus told this story. Neither of them knew that the wounded man was a Jew, thinking that he might be a Samaritan. They passed by, leaving him on the roadside to die. And that's incredible. Now let's apply this. How should we treat people of another race? Listen to Leviticus 19 verses 33 and 34. And if the stranger dwells with you in your land, you shall not mistreat him. The stranger who dwells among you shall be to you as one born among you. And you shall love him as yourself. For you are strangers in the land of Egypt. I am the Lord your God. This podcast is sponsored by mybipelfirst.org.